In news from Asia, dozens of activists marched outside the U.S. embassy in Manila on Saturday to denounce a possible expansion of the U.S. military presence in the Philippines. Renato Reyes is a spokesperson for the New Patriotic Alliance.

Renato Reyes: “We are very opposed to the plans to re-align and deploy more U.S. troops in the Philippines, and we are very aware that this is in line with the U.S. strategy to build up its armed forces in Asia to counter China. And we feel that the Philippines might be caught in the rising tension between the two countries if we allow the U.S. to base their troops in this region.”

The Obama administration is taking a number of steps to expand U.S. military power in Asia. On Friday, the Philippines defense minister confirmed the country was considering a U.S. proposal to deploy surveillance aircraft in the Philippines. Meanwhile, the United States is planning to station up to 2,500 marines in the Australian city of Darwin and to deploy warships in Singapore.